All studio monitors will sound different depending on the room. So let’s discuss…
Room Acoustics
Each room has its own acoustic culture and characteristic frequency response curve (FRC).
These are far from consistent between seemingly similar rooms – for example due to furnishings and surface finishes – and each room brings its own acoustic challenges.
Without doubt, the best advice for any recording studio is to…
test the monitors in your own environment. You may really like the sound in the store but they will sound different when you get them into the studio.
Dave Advises: Don’t begin recording in one position then move to another. Your mix using the same monitors in different positions will result in a different overall sound.
Note: If you missed Part 1, you can catch up by clicking here…
Setting up your studio environment
This is a huge topic in its own right, so here I’ll just mention the key issues…
An effective monitoring environment will address four issues in how sound waves behave in your studio room:
- Reflection – this is the issue.
- Too much reflection, and you have a messy, indistinct sound
- Too little reflection, and your recording sounds dead, unexciting.
- Absorption – part of the solution where too much reflection is a problem
- Diffusion – part of the solution where the room is dead, or has dead positions
- Frequency Response – this is a result – i.e. how sound levels vary in different positions in the room, depending on what pitch of sound you are hearing.
Note: If you come from a live sound production background, you might expect to compensate for room issues by using signal processors – EQ units, compressors/limiters etc. But while this could solve your own sound quality issues in the studio, its likely to be worse than useless to your audience who will be listening in their car, on their iPod, or Home Entertainment system.
Ideally, you need a good acoustic environment for your studio.
Most rooms are naturally lively with reflections so treating rooms for absorption and diffusion will improve the negative impact of too much reflection.
- absorption reduces the overall sound energy from a source
- diffusion maintains the energy level of the sound more consistently across the room
Dave’s Tip: A room with gypsum wallboard, wooden studs and wooden floorboards is easier to set up effective monitoring then a concrete space.
Dave Advises: Use thick, soft and porous materials made from acoustic foam and distribute it throughout the room is called ‘bass trapping’. Other materials that are usually effective are carpets, drapery, wall hangings and upright slat blinds.
Gear and Furniture Placement Matters too
Sound waves are affected when they make contact with various surfaces and objects. This alters what you hear. Your surrounding gear and furniture also should be about the same distance from each side of your listening position. This will create a better environment for traveling sound waves from your monitors into your listening space.
[tags]Room acoustics[/tags] can be a major challenge, but these guidelines will point you in the right direction to get the best from your investment in studio monitors.
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Dave,
I enjoyed studying your website. I’m getting ready to set up a home recording studio, and I’m an old man (76) novice with more inclination to adventure than to common sense. I’ve bookmarked your site and will check out all your links before I make any definitive decisions.
Thanks for your site.
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